Traction device



A. C. BEECH.

TRACTION DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JAN.3I.1921.

1,413,891 Patented Ap -25, 1922.

4 SHkETS-SHEET I.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I" I ll-"51" "mum/mun v E Y 4 J2 m ldh rw ATTORNEYS A. C, BEECH.

TRACTION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED mum, 1921.

Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- A. C. BEECH. TRACTION DEVICE. APPLICATION man JAN.31, 1921.

1 ,4]. 3,89 1 I Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

ATTORNEYS A. C. BEECH.

TRACTION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED mum. I921.

Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

4 SHkETSSHEET 4.

INVENTOR Mg 42%;?

ATTORNEYS plicable'also to elevated railwayshandling- I H thetflof Fig. l'nnd fromthat of Fight-2 nnnxnnnnnernieofi, onvvns'r mmu e 1I,L ro1s,;AssmNoE a m mjj A 0E. AL EN Q IH JMBEBLAND;TTG LAND. P w

Timomoiv niivieE.

' Beit known that{I',"lAnnxiiNDER C; B Q

invented the following described Improve merits in Traction Devices;

My invention relates to traction devices primarily for amusement purpo'ses, butapregular passenger traffic. "It has to doiwith novel. means for supporting the passenger car so that It, has a compound movement which; When;- the invention is embodied in amusement apparatus, may be-Widely'varied,

he impartedto the passenger car as the sup; I porting carriage travels"; and preferably by and. whichconsists'of thetrav'el of a sup-1 porting carriage- .W1th reference to when,

the passenger car is movably mounted, and

another movement or movements which may virtueroi such travel. "The carriage may be propelled in any manner or operate by gr'av ity on" a track of anydesired 'contourn'mf plan and in elevation Qn this carriage movablv mounted "a support ng] structure which i. heveisho' vn as apivoted'beam'orz; lever "from one arm'ot Which the car 1s" suspended preferably at one' side 'off and below the t I TiLClL' One of the-arm's of jthe" elingcontact with, a continnous stationary rail which follows substantially ilhQ CllIQQ- I supported the desired level and that where various aeroplane movements loy suitably:

lever carries a contaotmemher making trav tion oi the tracki and may have the same contouiwas the trackfor a. different contour. It vvill be apparent that infeither" ease the passenger car will at, all times vloe the contours of the track and rail are not the sam'einovement additional to the travel of the' carr-iage is imposed on the passenger"l fcar asjthe carriage travels, such inove nentj be? given to the supporting structure and so to the car, which being *pre'leifablyfsus pended can also sjwi'ng transversely When the track sis-curved, it being possible to imitate I combiningthe several movements referredt'o.

"It Will- 08' understood that Whenithe in- 'vention isapplied nto an elevatedrailroadfoi'f'handling ordinary passenger trafiic the contour (fifths track and rail will ,be the same. In amusement apparatusit isusually undulating. if i i V Referrin to; the drawings-' I l F igure 1 is a transverse. vertical section 'slimvn a track halving txvo parallel rails-fend {sine'le rail and one or more 'tvh desirednnmber iorcoo with ordinaryparallel trackgobviously also Q guit'lcjgra ils need not always" be used.* The .e' r tya' i' i through amusement iapparatils embodying a lny inventiong a 1 I Figure"-2"1s an incomplete plan new Specific Mien ef Letters Iatent ii Application fileii January 31', 19 2 1 sriarivo. M15278. 7

amusement railway embodying my 'invention, and shows a 'pluralityof carriages and 'Figure 3 is a side elevationcorresponding" e e n to rigure 1, but on a scale vdiflterent from ,passenger' c'ars, the track supporting struc- "'ture, and usualdrlvlng' means;

on which the "line III1III": further indicates the natureof Fig. 3.

Figure 4; is a'detail plan showing themode,

of connecting adjacent 'racksec'tion's i r igure 5 is avertical section correspond V "Figure G'is'a vertical sectionfshovving my invention Figure 7 is a side elevation o respondin to-Eigurefi applied; to an elevated railroad;-

; Referring toiigures l to 5.,iwhicl i relate although' -l "prefer to elevate the track this ture or-trestle supports thftrzickfi', OHWlLiCli" in the construction illustrated run-thewh'eel's I 1 j i 6 'carriedfby the axles? of the carriage,8, o

j9 secured; to longitudinal beams-1'0 o l-leach I, I it whieh 'in 'ay be kept in place by guide rails side of "the" trackandvvith which an'ti-fric tion'r'ollers 11'monnted onthe carr age corails follow the contour L otth'e ftraoli b'otli' in plan and :in-felevation. While} I fhav 1 act, I i-win beunderstoodthatthese guide a Carriage having fem wheels; I may of course employ *a trncli of anyf. type .asf-a" eels 11p togany therewith 'or carriage, which may be operated loy or which may be povver'idriven' any de-i sired ay, is provided With-support ng strucfirmly secured to. the" arriage and; are pro;

vided with removable capsv 1%. These beams max be constructed as shown with tenslon members and 16 extending roman 1ntermediate projecting portion 17 to the ends ably an anti-friction roller 22, which runs ference.

along therail preserving traveling contact therewith as the carriage travels. This rail 1 have illustrated as inverted, the contact of the roller being with its under side, and this is the construction which I shall expect to employ in practice although other arrangements of the rail are possible though inferion] V i l/Vhile in amusement apparatus I prefer to make the rail 21 of substantially the same contour in plan as the track 5 but of ditferent contour in elevation to give the car up anddown movement, I might, with some of the good effects sought,make the respective contours substantially the same in elevation but different in plan, the'movably mounted supporting structure being suitably arranged to be operated by such dit- Furthermore, I do not mean to exclude locating the axis ofxthe rail in a plane oblique to thehorizonta-l and normal 'to the face Offth rail, thereby giving the car'back and forth movement in a direction oblique, to the horizontal, the movement in all these casesbeing at an angle to the plane of the track, but in any case in whichmotion is tobe imposed on the travel of the carriage the rail and track contours are not the same.

arms 18 the )assenger car 27, which in Fig V I I3 ures 1 to 3takes a torm which is suitable to an amusement apparatus, and which may be relatively light as indeed are the other parts ofthe structure when designed for purposes of amusement. This car is pret erably suspended from the arm or .arms 18 as by rods 28 having forkedends 29 secured to the caradjacent its ends. Cables 'may be,

used-instead of'rods, the requisites being thatthecar be supported so as not to tip sidewise unduly, but to be free to swing transversely about thepoints of suspension, which as 1llustrated 1n Flgures 1 and 3 are formed. by eyes 30 to which the rods 28 are A continuous rail 21 T he rail 21 may be mounted on the trestle ties the t sible. It will be apparent that the level of the car is at all times ,determinedby the rail, which takes the upward thrust'dueto' the weight of the car and passengers and trans mittedby'the supporting structure, and thus assists the carriage .in supporting the load. In order to vary theposition of the car as the carriage travels, and by virtue of such travel, it is only necessary as above'eX plained to give the track and rail different contours, which may be done without risk having due regard to the limits of safety and in such a way as to produce exhilarating compound movements of the car, to the entertaimnent of the passenger Although the carriages need not have any motive means and indeed need notlbe power driven at all since they may operate by gravity, 1 have illustrated in Figs. lfto 5. conventional and usual ,means for operating them in a continuous series,,these means in'volving rack sections 32 provided with pins 33 and sleeves 3i andsecured to any stationary part of the carriage, as to thexaxles 7. Ad-

jacentrack sections are pivoted together at.

their ends by vertical pins 35 passing through a pa1r of lugs 36 on one QfStilCl sections, and an intermediate lug 37 on, the 7 other, the constructionat this point being clearly indicated inFig. 5.. The continuousrack or chain thus formed'is drlven by the sprocket 38 on'shaft 39,'whi ch1s located form ends by cables 4L4 running over pulleys 15. may be employed, said platforms being adjacent stationary landing stages 46.

' 'My traction devices maybe used for the conveyance of passengers, particularly in congested areas wherethere is not room for the usual elevated structure. In such local1- for example,,and by, providing'means for lowering the suspended cars tothe street or Figures 6 and 7 illustrate-an elevated rail road embodying my invention and. show the heavier supporting structure which [will be used in such a case and which may com} prise columns or postsl'Y, cross. girders "48,, longitudinal girders 4:9. and special track I beams 50. Heavy rails 52 constitute the tract on which th'e triiclrs es of. the carriage 8 having the housing structure riin, said Carriage being 11 gene l similar to t-llecar- I k may be erected entirely to one side of the street on the tops of the buildings 7 riageS, but more stronglybuilt and driven bymotors 56 supplied by thirdxrail' 57. EX-' cept in the matter of strength the lever .con-- strnction and supporting means may be the same as that described. in connection with Figureslto 3, and corresp ondingparts have been given the same reference numerals primed. The construction is :however, dif-" ferent from that previously described 111 that. the cars are regular passenger carsr5 8, errdischarge passengers, andfor raising the car again to the level at which it 1s normally 7 carried. 'The inverted rail 21 in'thisconstruction is more strongly supported so asjto sustain the increased thrust andlas already stated its contour is the same both in eleva the car is very heavy to: make the movable supporting structure in two or more distinct parts each with its own contact. member and constructed in the same way as the supporting levers shown in the drawings, except" that the caricarryingarms need not be'bifur-U cated since each such lever-may carry only a single cable. at will be understoodxthat the undulations in the rail 21f SllOjllfltl'nOl) be is a motion apparent to those in the ear track contour. Clai1ns .1. Traction devices comprising in com-' bin-ation a gravity power driven carriage, a track onwhich said carriage travelsfa beam I pivot-ally. mounted on said? carriage, a

7 passenger car supported by one end of said beam; and an inverted rail adapted to hold the other end ofsaid beam at any required level:

quired level.

on said carriage, and-a passenger car suspendedfr'om one end of saidbeam, the other en'dthereof having travelling contact with the under side of said inverted rail, and be ing held by said rail at all times at any re- 3. Traction devices comprising in combination, a carriage, a track on which said car motion as the carriagextravels. a

V'8-."Traction devices comprising in combief nation-, a carriage, an elevated track on' which said carriage travels, a lever mounted 1 on said carriage-and having armsiprojecting riage travels, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends on said carriage, a passenger member at the other side of its fulcrum, and

lever and contact member;

4. Traction devices comprising in combi nat1on,a'carr1age, a track on whlch said carvcar suspended from said lever at one-side of its fulcrum, the. lever having a contact 1 riage travels, a lever ,pivotally mounted on 5 i said ;carriage,;;a"passenger car suspended.

from an arm of'said lever, and a rail follow ing substantially the direction ofzthetrack and assisting thecarriageinsupporting-ther C l by-a contact maintained with" said lever j as the carriage travels; r

5. Traction devices comprisingin combination, a carriage, a track", on which saidv car: riage travels, a'lever extending, transversely l of said carriage, and ,plvotallymounted.',

thereon; a passenger car: suspended front an a contact maintained carriage travels.

6, Traction-devices comprising in combi li n'ation,= a carriage, a trackjon which said carriage travels, supporting structuremov-'- j- (,ably", mounted: on said carriage, a passe fger car suspended'fifrom s'aidfs'upportin'g abrupt butigradnal-especially where the supi i porting structure consists of two levers'each vwith its contact member: as; ust explained. The motion superimposed upon the pas I senger car is preferably. non-compensating at least in amusement apparatus, that is, it 40,"

-.creating rather than eliminating deviations of car movement 'fromparallelism with the structure atone si-defof said carriagagand aista-tionaiy rail-j with vvhich said supporting structure maintains contact' 'as the :tca rria ge travels, the respective contours" in elevation ,v of'saidrail and track differing soas'to give; 1

said supporting ,structure up 'and'hdown; A

7. Traction devices comprising in OOIIlbla nation, a carriage,- an elevated-track upon which. said carriage a; travels, supporting structure movably mounted on said carriage,

movement.

a passenger car susp'ended from said .struc,

tially the direction of the track and-'co-op erating with the-'said..contact'member to take the thrust ofthe car and to give the s'trucef p v V I I ture, and through it"the car ,back"and forth Traction devices comprisingin 'combination agravity-orpower driven carriage, a track on which said carriage travels, an in verted rail following substantially the 'dir'ection of the track, a beam pivotally mountedrespectively at oppositesidesof said ca riage," a ipassengerjgcar suspended fI'OHl'F.

,leyer arm which projectsbeyond one side of the carriage, a contact member carried by I a leverarm-which projectsbeyond the other side of thecarriage, and a stationary cam rail following substantially the direction of 130 thetrack and co-operating with the said cona I an inverted rail following substantially the a direction oifthe track and takingtheiupward 1 thrust offthe car transmitted through the 7 110, ture at one'side-of said' carriage, said Slip V ablyf mounted on'said'carriagega passenger car suspendedirom said .suppori' ing Sll1l1C- '35 i i i V through it' of the car.

tact member to take the thrust of the car and -to' impose'on the lever and-through it on the car controlled varying movement additional to' the travel-of the moving carriage.

9. Traction'devices comprising in combination, a carriage, a traclr upon which said carriage travels, supporting structure movably mounted onsaid carriage, a passenger "car'supported by said'structure, and a rail whose contour differs from that of the track i but which follows substantially the direction of the track, said supporting structure having travelling contact with said rail to take the thrust of the car and to determine the position oi the supporting structure and 10. Traction devices comprising in combination, a carriage, a t acl; uponwhich said carriage travels, supporting structure movablymounted onsaid carriage, a passenger carsuspe'ndedifrom said structure at one side otsaid' carriage, and a rail which has a contour in elevation differing from that of the track, but which-follows substantially the direction ot'the track and cor-operates withthe said supporting structure to take thethrust of the car and to give the supporting structure and through it the car up and down motion as the carriage travels. V

11; Traction devices comprising in combina-tiong'a' carriage, a track upon which said carriage travels,- supporting structure movture, said supporting structure having contact means, and-anundulating rail following substantially the direction of the track and 'co-operating through the contact means with said supporting structure to assist in supporting the car and to give the supporting structure, and-through it the car back and forth motion as the car travels.

12.-Traction devices comprisin in combinati'on, a carriage, a track on which said carriage travels, supporting structure movably mounted on said carriage, 'a passenger carsupported by said structure, an inverted rail following substantially the direction of the track and a contact member with which the support is provided and which has travelingcontact with theunder side of said rail. as the carriage travels.

Q13. Traction devlces comprising 111 com.-

binaton, :a track on which said". carriage travels, supporting structure pivotally mounted on "S2L1d."C2L1'I1tLgG, a passenger car:supported by said structure, and a rail following substantially the direction of the trackandhaving a difierent contour from said that of the track, said supporting structure havingja part in traveling contact. with rail as the carriage travels, whereby the pivotally mounted supporting struc ture is oscillated; v

1 1-. Traction -dev1ces comprising in combination, a carriage, a track on which said carriage travels,-supporting structure movably mounted on said carriage, a passenger car suspended from said supporting strum ture, and means brought intooperation' bv the travel et'the carriage for giving to the supporting structure, and tirough it the car, controlled non-compensating movement distinct from the travel of the carriage.

15. Traction devices comprising in combination, a carriage, an elevated track on which said carriage travels, a passenger car suspended from said carriage and means for the car controlled non-compensating movement with reference to the car-- riag'e as the carriage travels along the rails by virtue of such travel.

l6. Traction devices comprising in combination, a carriage, an elevated track on which said carriage travels, a passenger car movably mounted on said carriage and sus pendedvtherefrom at one side thereof, and means for giving said car controlled up and down lnOVGIIlGHi) additional to and imposed the carriage by .virtue thereof. 1 I I p LILLCtlOH ClGVlCGS comprising in corn-f upon the travel of ll. binatioina carriage, a track' on which saidl carriage travels, supporting structure mova- .bly mounted on said carriage; a passenger 'car suspended from said supporting strucsaid beam,- the other end of said beam havino traveling contact ,ivlth the under side 01" said inverted rail'an'd being held :by said rail at all times at any required level, and hoisting apparatus on said cario o riage connected to said car for raising and lowering thesame, whereby passengers may be received or discharged without the pro.- vision' of elevated stations. V i in testimony whereof, I have signedthis specification.

ALEXAND R o-.. senor-i. 

